Copy of letter sent to President John F. Kennedy. The letter urges the United States to take leadership on the Bizerte crisis during the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on August 21. While it may not be easy for the U.S. to speak sharply to an ally such as France, this is necessary if French intransigence is not, in the words of the London Observer, to cause the West to hold a base and lose a nation. Bizerte is Tunisian territory, and, on 15 occasions since Tunisian independence in 1956, President Bourguiba has called on France to leave Bizerte and provide a timetable for this departure.

Used by permission of Africa Action (successor to the American Committee on Africa).